Spring 2013 Without Shirley L. Watkins

Spring is the new beginning we all share each and every year. It is the time when the bitter cold, freezing rain, death, and desolation of the winter passes away. The birds begin to sing, the daffodils bloom, and the crops take root. Generally speaking, I am tripping over myself with excitement about the arrival of Spring and the possibilities that come with it.

I usually find myself chomping at the bit waiting for the next sale paper for the local Yeager’s, Lowe’s, Sutherland’s, Home Depot, and the Mulch and More. I actually let myself miss the opportunity to purchase top soil at $1.00 for a 40 pound bag times 20!

By now the seedling pallets are usually springing to life in the bedroom floor. The first new raised bed is usually built and a new year of mulch going down. Most years I would have an assortment of bedding diagrams with complex plans for what will go where completed and waiting.

Spring 2013 is different than the the last 31 of my life. This is the first Spring without my Master Gardener Grandma Shirley L. Watkins. She talked about the coming spring until the very end of her life and her final struggle. She made it until the daffodils began to bloom, but then moved on. I know from my study of life stages and psychology that it is normal for my loss of her to affect other areas of my life, but if she were still here I don’t think she would smile on my lack of dedication to our stewardship of this world.

Therefore, I think she would agree that it is time to get to work. The first step was cleaning up the yards last week and burning last year’s yard refuse and then cutting the grass yesterday. The next step is to get that next raised bed built, filled with dirt, and plants transplanted. This year we will have to skip the seedling process and purchase nursery stock: Farmer’s Co-op and Neumeier’s Nursery & Florist here I come!